The Justified
by lionesseyes13
Summary: After Edmund is rescued from the White Witch, he and Aslan have an important conversation about guilt and forgiveness.


Disclaimer: I own nothing but the laptop on which this story was written. Everything pertaining to Narnia is the property of C.S. Lewis, and all the glory is the Lord's. Only the mistakes are mine, and I take full credit for them.

Reviews: Every piece of feedback is greatly treasured.

Author's Note: After the Christmas rush, it can be helpful to just take a moment to reflect that Jesus is the perfect gift, and this story is just a little reminder of how blessed we all are that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

The Justified

"_The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" _**(2 Peter 3:9). **

Edmund still couldn't believe that he, a terrible traitor to his own family, who deserved to die for endangering his own flesh and blood, had been rescued from death by a host of strange creatures who had surged into the clearing just as the Witch's cold dagger pressed against the nape of his neck. Even as he felt the centaur's muscles moving beneath his legs and heard the beat of the hooves carrying him ever further away from the place where he had almost been forced to pay for his crimes, he couldn't accept that he would be freed from the White Witch's clutch so easily when he had willingly allied himself with her. He had made himself the enemy of everything good in Narnia, so the centaur couldn't be taking him through the forest to any place pleasant.

Yet, those bright tents with verdant pennants that blazed brilliantly in his eyes even during the gray, pre-dawn light did not look unsafe or evil. They looked warm and welcoming, as if they were waiting for Edmund to arrive to eat, sleep, and recover from the cruelty of the White Witch within their secure flaps. Swallowing hard, he thought he didn't deserve to lay eyes on such a merry campsite, nonetheless enter it.

He wanted to make this protest as the centaur, accompanied by the animals that had liberated him from the White Witch, bore him into the camp. However, the words died on his dry lips as he wondered whether his siblings and the Beavers had ever reached this beautiful place. Was Lucy with her wide eyes, quick grin, and unshakeable faith lost in the wilderness? Was sensible, delicate Susan confused about what to do next? Did calm, confident Peter not know how to lead his sister to safety in a strange land? Did the Beavers know they had only a damaged dam to return to? Tears stung his eyes. None of them deserved his betrayal, and if any of them were injured, lost, or scared, it was all his fault.

Before he could make any effort to compose himself, he was deposited unceremoniously in a heap in front of the grandest tent, staring into Lion's legs as golden as the July sun.

"Here is the Son of Adam who has betrayed us all," reported the centaur who had borne Edmund to the campsite, bowing to the Lion.

"Well done, My creatures." The Lion's voice was both firm and gentle. "Leave me alone with the child now, please."

Edmund, not wishing to gaze into the face of the Lion he had betrayed and scoffed at the very existence of, stared at the ground as the animals who had saved him from the Witch's clutches disappeared into various tents.

"Son of Adam," rumbled the Lion, as soon as the creatures had left Him alone with Edmund. "Look into My face."

Son of Adam, Edmund thought as he wished the earth would open and swallow his vile self whole. He had been called that ever since he arrived in Narnia, and that dread title fit him, so he would have to wear it, no matter how ugly it was. As the Son of Adam, he had eaten the tempter's food and thought it tasted delicious even as it poisoned his mind and soul. As the Son of Adam, he had exchanged paradise for empty promises from evil incarnate. As the Son of Adam, he was weak but thirsted for the wrong kind of glory at any price. As the Son of Adam, he felt too exposed and ashamed to respond when he was called, so, with a piteous, self-loathing wail, he buried his damp face in his dirt-smeared palms.

"Edmund." The Lion's tail flicked out to swat his hands away from his cheeks. "Look into My face."

His stomach knotting, Edmund drew on all the strength and courage he could find in his battered body and bullied himself into meeting the Lion's eyes. There he saw justice and an intimate awareness of every evil he had ever done—every jealous thought, every malicious word, every derisive snort, and every act of contempt. He saw, reflected in that majestic gaze, how petty and vulgar he must look in the eyes of the mighty and virtuous, sniveling like a victim when he was a villain.

"Are You going to kill me, Sir?" he whispered, lower lip and chin trembling like pudding. With a gulp, he stared at the Lion's sharp fangs and razor claws, remembering how he had told the White Witch what he knew of Aslan's plans and how he had spit so hatefully on the lion statue in her courtyard, hoping with all the evil in his heart that the statue was Aslan. Yet, as a new river of tears flowed down his cheeks, he realized that he would rather be eaten or torn to shreds by Aslan than spend another moment in the cold, cruel presence of the White Witch, her awful wand, and terrible dagger.

"I would not have you brought to Me just to kill you." The Lion's glance softened as it remained fixated on Edmund. "Tell Me, Son of Adam, do you know Me at all?"

"No, Sir." Miserably, Edmund shook his head. "If I knew You, I would never have acted as I did." Then, before he could stop himself, he burst out from the depth of his tormented soul, "But I want to know You. I'm tired of being rotten. I want to be good. I want to be forgiven. I want to be better than I am right now, and I think only you can help me do that. I don't just need to be saved from the Witch—I need to be saved from myself."

"I am Aslan." This time, when Edmund heard the name, he felt a tender promise of mercy and salvation, instead of the awful fear of condemnation and judgment he had experienced when Mr. Beaver referred to Aslan back at the dam what seemed like centuries ago. "I've known you and your siblings since before you set foot in Narnia. Now, arise, Edmund Pevensie, and walk with me. Then you shall begin to know me and how long I have waited to speak with you."

Obediently, Edmund stood on tremulous legs and followed Aslan to a flowered outcropping on the edge of the camp. As they walked, he plucked up all his nerve and asked, "Aslan, are my sisters and brothers all right?"

"They are here, asleep beneath their blankets," Aslan replied, and Edmund could hear the affection the Lion had for his siblings. "They have been worried about you and will rejoice when they awake to find you with us."

"They shouldn't be happy to see me when I betrayed them, Aslan," muttered Edmund, wishing that his siblings would hate him even more than he loathed himself. He deserved their hatred, not their love. "They should be cursing my very name."

"Brothers and sisters are to love each other no matter what," Aslan answered in a mild tone that still managed to be uncompromising.

"I'm not worthy to be their brother," mumbled Edmund bitterly. He wasn't as sweet and honest and idealistic as innocent Lucy. He wasn't as polite and sensible as pretty Susan. And, heaven help him in a comparison with perfect Peter. Peter who always did his homework and always got to class on time, as Edmund's teachers were quick to remind him. Peter who always did extra chores around the house without being asked and who set a wonderful example Edmund constantly failed to follow, as their mother would scold. Peter who was responsible, as Susan would point out. Peter who was never a bully, as Lucy would say if she were as spiteful as Edmund. Peter who always did everything first and better than Edmund. Peter, whom Father, going off to war, had told to take care of the family, while all Edmund had received was a stern warning to not cause trouble. Peter would have never had any difficulty with adhering to that simple command, but Edmund, the incompetent idiot, had messed that easy order up quite fine. Peter, whom Edmund couldn't even blame, because Peter hadn't made Edmund such a dreadful failure.

"I made you their sibling." Aslan's eyes pierced into Edmund. "Would you, Son of Adam, dare to tell Me I was wrong? Will you be the lump of clay who tells Me I should have made you part of a different vessel?"

"You were wrong to bring me to Narnia, so You could be incorrect about a lot of things," snapped Edmund before he could stop himself, controlled by the defiance inside him that would scorn even a chance at redemption. "Ask any of the creatures who rescued me tonight. They'll tell you that my time here has been one giant mistake from beginning to end."

"The four Pevensies are exactly the right siblings to come to Narnia and reclaim this country for Me," growled Aslan. "Each one represents a characteristic of My chosen people. There is Peter, the righteous. There is Susan, the soft-hearted. There is Lucy, the faithful. There is Edmund, the just."

"The just?" Edmund repeated dully. "As in just not good enough? As in just plain rotten?"

"No." Aslan brushed his Mane against Edmund's face. "As in justified. As in justified not because of who he is but because of who I am. As in justified not because of what he has done but because of what I will do for him. As in justified because of My word and deed. As in if I declare he is justified and make him so, who will dare say he still deserves death for his transgressions?"

"I choose You, Aslan," Edmund vowed, burrowing his head into the Lion's warm, soft Mane, and overcome by the fact that Aslan, out of utterly incomprehensible mercy, had not only brought Edmund to Him but allowed him to bury himself into His Mane like a precious cub instead of a wicked child. "As I once chose the Witch and her evil, I now choose You and Your goodness."

"I know." Aslan breathed on his face, filling him with a feeling of endless love and boundless mercy, assuring him that Aslan, showing His goodness and might, would find a way to bring good out of the evil Edmund had done. "That is why according to the deepest laws of magic from before the dawn of time I shall ransom you, Son of Adam, and not just steal you from her camp. All generations will call you favored, Edmund, because of the proof I will over you that your betrayal is forgiven, and the evidence I will give you that, where repentance is present, My healing and mercy abounds. Until the crack of doom, people will point to you as an example of how I can make even the most unrighteous worthy, because you are Edmund the Just, now and forever."

"_Yet it as our infirmities that He bore, our sufferings that He endured, while we thought of Him as striken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon Him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by His stripes we were healed"_**(Isaiah 53:4-5). **


End file.
